RENOVATE verb: do up (informal), modernise, redecorate, refurbish, rejuvenate, remodel, restore, revamp…update. As you can see, renovate is a complex word. Don’t get too excited, there was a lot to do, but completely gutting and re-modelling the place à la THE BLOCK (Australia) is not what occurred! I’m not going to brag that we pulled off some sort of enormous heroic feat, but there was a great deal of paint, pain, cutting, measuring and drilling involved. Copious amounts of dirt, dust and rubbish to deal with, miles of roads travelled in the search for the ultimate pieces and many hours of t ..read more

So we have (finally) bought an apartment in Nice, France! But this was not, however, a feat that was accomplished easily or quickly! MB (Monsieur Bleu) and I had spent many years (eight to be exact), getting whiplash from craning our necks upwards searching for À Vendre (for sale) signs carelessly attached to miniature Niçoise balconies or stalking various immobilières (real estate agents) windows and internet sites for anything even half resembling a decent dwelling with a price that wouldn’t immediately cause severe heart palpitations! There are many different avenues to explore when search ..read more

What the hell is a FRIP I hear you ask! Well, simply put, a FRIPERIE in French, means a second hand clothing store…a charity shop to you and I… but the money here, doesn’t go to a particular charity like the Red Cross or St Vincent de Paul, but directly into the pockets of the poor people of Madagascar who operate them. They, themselves, are the charity cases and deserve every Ariary I spend. It is always appreciated and a great bit of entertainment as well! Along the well worn, sandy streets of Tamatave, you will see many little makeshift clothing stalls, their wonky, splinter covered wooden ..read more

What the hell is a FRIP I hear you ask! Well, simply put, a FRIPERIE in French means a second hand clothing store…a charity shop to you and I… but the money here, doesn’t go to a particular charity like the Red Cross or St Vincent de Paul, but directly into the pockets of the poor people of Madagascar who operate them. They, themselves, are the charity cases and deserve every Ariary I spend. It is always appreciated and a great bit of entertainment as well! Along the well worn, sandy streets of Tamatave, you will see many little makeshift clothing stalls, their wonky, splinter covered wo ..read more

A mere 45 kms and an approximate 1.5 hour drive from Tamatave or Toamasina (give or take a few minutes due to some ‘interesting’ roads) lies an absolute GEM of a place called LA CIGALE, in FOULPOINTE. Foulpointe (pronounced full point) or Mahavelona, is the closest ‘beach bum’ destination from the main city centre and offers 20kms of unadulterated sand as far as the eye can see in one direction, and another 20kms in the other, which is more of a wild beach party haven for the locals and the brave tourists and ex-pats amongst us! Deciding to escape the rat race and the frenzied hysteria that de ..read more

Here in Madagascar, not all ingredients for certain dishes are readily available at all times. That’s just the way it is in poorer countries, so of course, creativity and spontaneity are called upon when ‘one’ is craving a specific cuisine! My go to food is always Thai, as the flavours and spice do wonders for my mouth, mind, body and soul and ultimately makes me happy! We don’t have the luxury of Uber Eats or restaurant delivery services here and no quirky little bamboo Thai style ‘hole in the wall eateries’ are at our fingertips, but what I DO HAVE is a local market that provides a wonderful ..read more

Two weeks down and so much to say! Who would have thought that the 4th time around tackling this huge and exotic island would present itself with as much gusto as I have encountered! Apart from atrocious weather, (torrential rain bursts every hour or so), it has now cleared to be the sun soaked, palm tree fringed seafront city that I know and it seems to be buzzing with activity every minute of the day until the bewitching hour of 9pm when the CURFEW or Couvre – feu begins. (FYI: Couvre -feu means to cover the fire/flame and originates from war times when they had to put out the candles during ..read more

Mykonos Greece…eat, seek, ride, repeat! The last island in our Big Fat Greek Island Escape trilogy just HAD to be Mykonos and I don’t think it’s right to visit this Aegean archipelago and not include a trip around this iconic island haven! MB (Monsieur Bleu) and I were gradually making our way back to Athens and then eventually to France and Mykonos was one of the closest to the mainland. With its much photographed windmills, painted stone pathways and lapping waters of Little Venice, we were definitely in for a joyous three day/four night treat! We took the 50 minute ferry ride over to Mykono ..read more

Pausing in Paros (a slice of Paradise) After our sun and fun infused trip around glorious Santorini, MB (Monsieur Bleu) and I decided to take a ferry ride over to the smaller and more intimate island of Paros. Having entertained the idea (many moons ago) of purchasing a small beach house there to renovate, we had never really gotten over the fact that this far flung Greek Island Dream had not been investigated, so spending six days here was a truly exciting prospect for both of us! Waving good bye to the volcanic cliffs as they disappeared into the distance, we settled down for our three hour ..read more

Clusters of lime washed hilltop villages are not just a figure of your imagination or a faded image on a dusty corner store postcard here in the Greek Islands. No! This breathtaking and eye blinding white scene is the heart of every little island here in the Cyclades, sporadically dotted with splashes of apricot for a colourful contrast or highlighted by cerulean blue church domes surrounded by weathered cubiform buildings. After a whirlwind trip to Athens, MB (Monsieur Bleu) and I relished the thought of lying comatose on a beach for a few weeks whilst the rest of the world were swathed in a ..read more